CARP ROAD LANDFILL – HOW TO HAVE YOUR SAY
February 27, 2006

People are making it clear they don’t want to see the Carp Road Landfill expanded. I certainly share this view and have made it clear when speaking to the media.

Where people do have questions is around who has proposed the landfill expansion and how the process works.

The Carp Road Landfill is owned by Waste Management Corporation, a private for-profit company. It is Waste Management Corporation who are initiating the process to expand the landfill.

To expand a landfill an environmental assessment needs to be completed and approved by the provincial government. There are several stages to the process. At each stage public consultations take place.

The first step in the process is consultation on the terms of reference for the environmental assessment. Terms of reference including things like what other options will be studied – I want to make sure all options are considered. This is the stage we are at right now.

Originally, the deadline for comments on the terms of reference was March 20th. In response to a request from my council colleague Janet Stavinga, with the support of myself and other councillors, Waste Management agreed to delay the deadline until May 12th.

This provides more opportunities for comment from the public. The City of Ottawa’s Planning and Environment Committee is scheduled to discuss the Carp Road Landfill at its meeting on April 25th.

People wanting to provide comments have the right to see the draft terms of reference. The draft terms of reference are available at the Waste Management website at: http://ottawalandfill.wm.com. Hard copies are also supposed to be available in Kanata at the locations below:

Beaverbrook Library
2500 Campeau

Hazeldean Library
50 Castlefrank

Kanata Client Service Centre
580 Terry Fox Drive

I will be holding a forum on incineration to provide information on the pluses and minuses of one alternative that has been suggested. I will also be letting people who have contacted me about the Carp Road Landfill know when the report from city staff is released.

SMOKE ALARM REQUIREMENTS

The tragic fire last April in downtown Ottawa that killed five family members made us all more conscious of the need for smoke alarms in our homes.

As of March 1, 2006 provincial law requires homeowners to have a working smoke alarm on every floor. This is in addition to the requirement of a smoke alarm outside each sleeping area.

More information on requirements for smoke alarms can be found on the city website at http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/fire/prev_education/index_en.html .

WORKING FULL-TIME FOR KANATA

I appreciate the chance to hear from you about issues affecting our community. You can reach me at 580-2474 (office), 580-2514 (fax), or peggy.feltmate@ottawa.ca